Igor Sekreta. An archive photo
MINSK, 23 February (BelTA) – Overcoming international contradictions and the trust crisis is possible only through diplomacy and dialogue, Belarusian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Sekreta said as he addressed the high-level segment of the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland on 23 February, BelTA learned from the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“In the current situation, as a deterrence measure, we had to deploy Russian tactical nuclear weapons on our territory. To the same end, the Russian missile system Oreshnik has been deployed in Belarus. The treaty on security guarantees within the Union State of Belarus and Russia, signed last year, envisages the use of all types of weaponry, including nuclear, for defense. Let me stress: use for defense. Our response is proportionate to the growing challenges and threats to national security and the level of escalation of the situation in the region. It is exclusively defensive and is carried out in strict accordance with international law, including the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,” the Belarusian diplomat noted.
The deputy foreign minister that way back in 2019, Belarus put forward an initiative to draft a multilateral political declaration on the non-deployment of intermediate and shorter-range missiles following the collapse of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Unfortunately, our initiative went unheard or was met with unwillingness to listen and support.
“We do not seek confrontation. On the contrary, we do everything possible to reduce military-political tension in the region,” the deputy foreign minister noted. “An example is our approach to the joint Belarusian-Russian exercise Zapad 2025 last September. We significantly reduced its scale and moved the main maneuvers deep into the territory of Belarus. As a gesture of goodwill, all OSCE participating states were invited to observe the exercises. Unfortunately, many Western countries did not end up taking part, although some states were represented in observing the exercises, including the USA.”
Belarus lost every third resident in World War II. In the genetic code of every Belarusian lies a categorical rejection of war, conflict, and violence.
Igor Sekreta stated: “Overcoming international contradictions and the trust crisis is possible only through diplomacy and dialogue. There is and can be no alternative to this. That is precisely why Belarus is a consistent adherent of this approach.”
“We hope that the work of the Board of Peace, established last week, will contribute both to post-conflict settlement in the Middle East and to accumulating valuable experience for other hot spots on our planet,” Igor Sekreta said.
“We welcome the recent agreements between the USA and Russia to restore dialogue at a high military level. This is an important signal aimed at restoring trust and de-escalating tensions. We expect the continuation of discussions on the future of Eurasian security during the now-traditional Minsk Conference, which we plan to hold this autumn. This is our significant contribution to overcoming confrontation and finding joint solutions for Europe and Asia to form an equal and indivisible security space,” the representative of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry emphasized.
The diplomat also drew attention to prohibiting the development and production of new types of weapons of mass destruction and new systems of such weapons, which is one of Belarus’ priorities at disarmament platforms in 2026. During the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, Belarus plans to introduce its traditional draft resolution “Prohibition of the development and manufacture of new types of weapons of mass destruction and new systems of such weapons: report of the Conference on Disarmament.”
Igor Sekreta summarized: “Global peace is not a given nor an option, but a vital necessity. Peace must be pursued through rejection of confrontation and political ambitions, the development of effective and long-term solutions in international security and disarmament. We call on everyone to follow this approach and support it in every possible way from our side.”
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